Passively Q-switched 2 μm Tm:YAP laser based on graphene saturable absorber mirror

Using high-quality single-layer graphene as a saturable absorber, Tm: YAlO3 (Tm:YAP) crystal as the gain medium, we demonstrated a laser-diode-pumped, compact, passively Q-switched (PQS) solid-state laser in the 2 mu m region. The maximum average output power was 362 mW, with the corresponding largest pulse repetition rate and pulse energy of 42.4 kHz and 8.5 mu J, respectively. Under the same pump power, the pulse width of 735 ns was obtained, which is, to our best knowledge, the shortest pulse width among Tm-doped solid-state PQS lasers using graphene saturable absorber mirrors. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America